Make Me Crumble

CHAPTER 4

Picture: Kingdom of Svalin

It was that night, when Eileen lay on her cot, her wool blanket draped over her head, her tears making her shake, that she doubted her decision for the first time. She wondered whether, in the end, this would all be worth marrying one of the suitors her father was writing to her about every day. Whether since her contribution to the army had been, not just unnoticed, or even unappreciated, but right down to unwanted, was it really necessary at all? Whether she was even making a difference. And if she was only using her newfound identity to make enemies, was she really even worthy of having it in the first place?

She needed to take a walk. A change of perspective, a look at this situation from another angle. And if after the walk, she decided, she still feels unworthy to use her identity for the greater good, she'll write to her father. And Earl Rubbin Tuffin was not a man to gloat about being correct, so she would humbly accept that her decision was poor.

She got up and washed her face. Then, she slipped outside the female quarters hut. The camp was still very much busy. Soldiers moving about, some lifting wood planks and others shifting heavy cannons. Some were having a few drinks; some were playing games. She hugged her army coat around herself as the night breeze blew through her. The sun had set, and stars were starting to shine in the Avalorn sky...

"Eileen Tuffin!" A voice rang clear. She turned to see the elf soldier that had come to call her to Captain Colton's office. She looked into his Hazel eyes and immediately remembered him as Kogane Yeltris.

"Mr. Yeltris." She smiled the politest one she could conjure.

"And I thought the next time I'd see you; you'd be in a casket." He smiled as he walked up to her. He was dressed rather loosely, she noticed. He was wearing a white undershirt and his army pants. His chestnut hair was shorter than most elves, cut at his shoulders, tied back in a ponytail. His arms were big, his muscles glistened with a light sheen of sweat.

"You sound disappointed." Eileen replied, chucking.

"Hey, anything to get a break from the constant labour around here." He chuckled as he reached her, standing right in front of her.

"Were you still up to that?" Eileen's eyes scanned his attire once more.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his ponytail. "Indeed."

Eileen nodded, her eyes drifting to the ground. There was silence for a moment as she gave him a chance to survey her as well.

"And what were you up to?" He asked after a few seconds.

Eileen opened her mouth but didn't really know what to say. After a few moments of quick cognition, she replied. "Reflecting."

"Uh oh." He smirked. "That's never good."

Eileen sighed. "No... no it isn't." She looked up at the stars.

"...would you like to talk about it?" He asked. Eileen appreciated him for that.

"What, you want to listen to a privileged girl's dilemma?"

"I like new experiences."

Eileen laughed. "Alright." She said. "I should actually talk to someone about it."

They walked around the camp, and she opened up to him about everything. Well, everything except her real past. She cut that out. She told him how she convinced her father to let her join the army, and the condition she abided by.

And when she got to Lieutenant West's part, she was almost shouting.

"It's like he has something against every single part of my very being!" She said. "Like my breathing is a horrible and disrespectful insult to his ego."